MSRDC wants cop cover to clear parking lots under flyovers

To tackle goons that operate pay-and-parks under flyovers, officials from the state authority are demanding police cover when they try to vacate the premises

Space is a rare and expensive commodity in the city and when free space is found, locals often do anything to hang on to it. Officials from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) are finding this out the hard way, as they have failed to get rid of the operators of parking lots under the flyovers.

Finding it difficult to vacate the area under flyovers, officials from the MSRDC are now seeking help from the police. The authorities say that the operators of the parking lots threaten the officials when they try to evict them from the space.

Parking nuisance: Cars continue to park under the Vakola flyover despite the best efforts by the MSRDC to evict them from the premise. Pics/Nimesh Dave, sayed sameer abedi

An official from the MSRDC said that unless they were provided with police protection, they would not be able to evict the parking operators, as they were threatening them.

According to officials, while they have been able to vacate the area below six of the 12 flyovers, they have found no success at Chheda Nagar, Vakola, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, Fergusson Road and Vikhroli.

In the past, the police had cited Independence Day and Ganeshotsav bandobast as reasons for being unable to help out the MSRDC, added an official, hoping that they would receive police help this week.

Meanwhile, the MSRDC Minister Jaidatta Kshirsagar said that criminal action would be taken if the parking lot operators did not comply with the state orders and vacate the premises.

>> An official from the MSRDC said that unless they were provided with police protection, they would not be able to evict the parking operators, as they were threatening them.

>> MSRDC Minister Jaidatta Kshirsagar said that criminal action would be taken if the parking lot operators did not comply with the state orders and vacate the premises.

Illegal parking lots In 2009, the Urban Development department had issued a General Resolution (GR), banning parking of vehicles below flyovers throughout the state. However, ignoring the GR, pay-and-parks continued to flourish under flyovers. But, in 2012, the High Court too banned the parking lots under the flyovers, citing security reasons, after which MSRDC has been trying hard to vacate the premises.